Being a first-time mom is an overwhelming experience that comes with immense joy and challenges. If you are a new mom and nursing your newborn, you might be wondering about several things in which breastfeeding is on the top. Breastfeeding can make you tired for various reasons, including postpartum depression and issues like tongue-tie in infants.
Tongue Tie Phoenix offers a variety of services for infants and nursing mothers. If you are a new mom and suffering from breastfeeding issues, you should get a lactation consultation.
Moreover, if you want, our team of professionals will also examine your baby for tongue tie and lip tie and can help you quickly cope with this phase.
So, book your consultation online today and receive the best expert advice.
Further, in this article, we will discuss breastfeeding exhaustion over 12 months, why breastfeeding makes you lose weight, whether breastfeeding hurts, and much more.
Continue reading this blog to find some insights about the breastfeeding journey and learn more things you might need help with.
Read: 5 Methods for Feeding Your Baby Affected by Tongue Tie
Is Breastfeeding Exhausting?
If you are a new mom, understand that it is expected to feel tired during breastfeeding. As you are your baby’s primary source of nourishment, it can be tiring to help them latch every now and then.
The majority of breastfeeding mothers feel exhausted during this phase due to several additional factors, such as:
Additionally, as per a certified breastfeeding expert, Sterling Grey Simmons, post-delivery, your body releases a hormone named prolactin that signals your body to produce milk.
This hormone helps you maintain your milk supply but can also cause lethargy. Furthermore, a mother also feels down due to several factors.
Read: 5 Reasons Why Your Baby Clicks Their Tongue While Feeding
What are the Side Effects of Breastfeeding?
Every mother experiences a difference in their breastfeeding journey, and their experience varies for several reasons. Several side effects of breastfeeding make this process tiring for a new mom.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, there are several symptoms that every mother experiences during the breastfeeding journey, such as:
1: Sore Nipples
As your baby finds it difficult to latch during the first few weeks, the nipples become sore. As the nipples become dry and chapped, they feel very uncomfortable and hurt as well.
A certified lactation consultant can better guide you in avoiding such a scenario in such conditions.
2: Postpartum Depression
Postpartum depression is natural and comes with its challenges that include extreme fatigue, worry, and sadness. Studies reveal that every one in seven women go through postpartum depression after delivery.
These unwanted feelings make mothers emotionally weak, leaving them discouraged, tired, and exhausted, which makes breastfeeding more challenging.
3: Hormonal changes
During breastfeeding, hormonal changes include the release of two major hormones, oxytocin and prolactin.
Both hormones are responsible for milk production and inhibit ovulation for a few months post-delivery.
Moreover, prolactin production also impacts the sleep pattern of mothers, which results in tiredness.
4: Disrupted sleep patterns
One of the challenges is to keep up with the energy levels while managing the baby. Waking up multiple times at night to change the diaper, feed the baby, and for other needs disrupts the sleep cycle, leading to fatigue and emotional distress.
In this way, breastfeeding fatigue lasts six months or more in new mothers.
5: Pain in nipples
Breastfeeding is a fantastic process that helps you and your baby bond in less time, but it can be excruciating for mothers.
If the baby has a tongue tie or lip tie, there are chances that the mother goes through physical pain when the baby is unable to latch correctly.
Soreness and pain in the nipples add up to physical exhaustion, whereas not enough latching leaves the mother with mental fatigue.
All these side effects contribute to post-delivery breastfeeding exhaustion for months and more time frames. However, with the right advice and proper treatment, it is now possible to make this journey less tiring.
How to Overcome Breastfeeding Fatigue?
Staying awake and meeting the baby’s needs are essential, but new mothers must take extra measures to fight fatigue.
Here, we share some tips to fight breastfeeding tiredness so moms can enjoy this time instead of just getting through it.
1: Stay hydrated
Breast milk needs water to flow through the milk ducts, which is only possible with enough water intake. Make sure to consume adequate water during breastfeeding to not only increase milk supply but also stay hydrated.
2: Take supplements
What can I take for energy while breastfeeding? Taking potassium vitamins is an absolute help for mothers with low power. It fulfills your nutritional deficiencies and acts as a building block to reduce body fatigue.
3: Eat enough
Diet plays a vital role in the recovery and breastfeeding of new mothers. Many mothers have this concern that breastfeeding makes them hungry.
So, the answer is yes. Doctors and lactation consultants suggest taking additional calories daily to aid milk production and replacing the calories while feeding.
Furthermore, mothers need extra energy to help around the kids. So, maintaining a healthy diet enriched with essential minerals and vitamins is much needed for new mothers.
4: Get enough sleep
How much sleep do breastfeeding mothers need? Well, sleep regression and insomnia are natural in the postpartum phase. The best way is to sleep when your baby sleeps.
Keeping up with your baby’s routine might be challenging, but this will only work out in the long run. So, if you are a new mother looking for the time to sleep, get it with your baby.
5: Ask for help
Motherhood is an exhausting yet joyous occasion that can be made a little easier with the right advice. So, if you are going through any issues related to breastfeeding or lactation, look for professional help.
Contact us today and speak up with our lactation consultants for expert advice. Enjoy this journey along with its challenges by implementing the right strategies.
FAQs
Does breastfeeding drain your energy?
Breastfeeding is a tiring and exhausting process that drains your energy. Milk production burns 400 to 500 calories daily, resulting in a tired mom.
Why does breastfeeding make you so sleepy?
Yes, during breastfeeding, oxytocin and prolactin release not only helps with the milk supply but also causes feelings of drowsiness. Further, lowered energy levels contribute to sleep regression.
How can I maintain my energy while breastfeeding?
You can support your energy levels and improve faster healing and recovery by incorporating the required carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins in whole grains, proteins, fruits, and vegetables.
